Obama taking wait-and-see approach on immigration

2/14/13 6:15 PM EST

President Obama said Thursday that he is taking a wait-and-see approach on immigration reform, declining to take hard-and-fast stand on what he'll accept or reject so Congress can come up with a deal.

"What I'm trying to do right now is to give Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and in the House the opportunity to work through some of these issues to see where their compromises are and not be too heavy-handed in a way that might end up breaking up these discussions because I think it's very important for us to get immigration reform done," he said in a Google+ Hangout.

He signaled that means he could be willing to compromise on some of what he asked for, including immigration rights for same-sex couples. Obama, asked directly about whether he would demand same-sex rights, gave a general recounting of his support for the LGBT community.

"This is something I care deeply about and I have said very clearly that I think that people should be treated the same, they should not be treated differently when it comes to any aspect of American life, and that includes our immigration laws," he said.

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Donovan Slack

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